Mission Statement and Mandate
of the National Library of Canada

Mission Statement

The National Library is dedicated to building a world-class national resource enabling Canadians to know their country and themselves through their published heritage and to providing an effective gateway to national and international sources of information.

Mandate

The National Library of Canada is a federal cultural institution located in Ottawa, established by Parliament in 1953, whose main role is to acquire, preserve and promote Canadiana which is part of the published heritage of Canada for all Canadians, both now and in the years to come. The Library serves as one of the nation's foremost centres for research in Canadian Studies and as a showcase for Canadian literature and music.

The National Library also plays a major role in fostering the development of library resources and services throughout the country, and facilitating resource sharing among Canadian libraries as outlined in the National Library Act.

The most comprehensive collection of Canadiana in the world--books, periodicals, sound recordings and other materials--can be found at the National Library. The National Library of Canada offers a wide variety of services to those in the library and information community so that they can better serve their users. The Library offers a reference service that is well equipped to handle a wide range of enquiries. A location service assists other libraries trying to locate items not in their own holdings. Moreover, with a few exceptions such as rare books, manuscripts, reference materials and most sound recordings, the National Library will arrange to lend material to any library in the country or in the world.